Property sales hit record €371 million in October after tax cut

A reduction in stamp duty on property sales has resulted in a record number of promise of sale agreements signed last month, the Malta Developers Association said.

Preliminary data shows that October was this year’s best month so far, and one of the best since 2017 for the number and value of promise of sale agreements.

The MDA said that 1,551 promise of sales were registered with a total sales value of €371 million.

The figures show that October registered an increase of 21% on the number of promise of sales over the same month in 2019, while the value increased by a staggering 36%, €100 million more than October last year.

MDA President Sandro Chetcuti said the results confirmed the resilience of the property market and its many players.

“The overall significance of these positive results is that in a situation of general doom and gloom, the property market is resulting to be the strongest of Malta’s economic sectors, providing continuous economic growth without the need of any handouts from taxpayers’ funds,” he said.

Chetcuti said the trends, which have been recurring since June, were a direct result of the COVID-19 incentives introduced by the government last June, following an MDA proposal.

As part of the economic recovery package announced in June, government reduced the stamp duty for buyers and sellers on promise of sale agreements entered into this year for contracts that had to be concluded by March 2021.

Budget 2021 has extended the low tax regime for the whole of next year and widened the tax exemptions for first-time buyers.

Chetcuti said the association was confident that with the new measures, its members will respond with “more investment and confidence”.